If Liberal Democratic Party wins back the next election (Lower House, to be held sometime next year), he will be the prime minister of Japan for the second time.

5 years ago, he simply quit as the prime minister and LDP leader after encountering some minor difficulty in negotiating with the opposition (DPJ). He is an elite from a political family which has produced prime ministers and councilmen. His own father was the foreign minister under Prime Minister Nakasone. Reading his profile on Japanese wiki, he looks and sounds like a typical "third generation".

Tokyo Governor Ishihara's son didn't do well at all. (I hope he retires to Senkaku Island now, taking his daddy with him.)

From Nikkei Shinbun (9/26/2012; part) reporting on the party election result just announced:

The LDP leadership election was held on September 26, and after the final round of voting, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was the 2nd in the first round of voting, won the election by defeating Mr. Shigeru Ishiba, former chairman of the party policy bureau. It was the first time in 56 years that the candidate placed 2nd in the first round won in the final round. For Mr. Abe, it will be the second time as the party leader since he resigned the same position in 2007. It will be the first time for the party to have the party leader who resigned from the post before, since the party was formed in 1955.

In case you are not aware, despite the official name the party is not "liberal", just like DPJ under Yoshihiko Noda has been shown to be not "democratic".

Now, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as the leader of DPJ elected by overwhelming majority of the party has appointed Goshi Hosono as the party's new policy bureau chairman, replacing Seiji Maehara (whom many call a puppet of the US). As the result, Goshi Hosono resigned as the minister in charge of nuclear accident and focus on the election strategy for the party.

So much for his word that he decided not to run for the DPJ leadership election because he wanted to focus on the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident and the cleanup effort.

Also, Finance Minister Jun Azumi will resign, as he becomes the deputy secretary-general of the party. Not much loss here, as he is a rank amateur when it comes to finance and economy.

So, as far as the politicians in Japan are concerned, the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident looks to be totally behind them. It is indeed a "post-accident phase" they are in, as IAEA's Director-General Yukiya Amano said the other day, 1,660 Bq/kg of radioactive cesium in apples in Chiba notwithstanding.

Ampontan is a paid shill of the Japanese Foreign Ministry...Abe claimed an irregular bowel problem as the cause for his departure...he simply didn't have the stomach to continue...most Japanese are shocked the LDP would elect him given his shiXXy excuse for resigning.

Mr. Abe was suffering from ulcerative colitis, for 40 years. In other words, it was a chronic condition. That condition got worse from the stress of being the prime minister and having to deal with pesky politicians. So he quit. In Japan, and anywhere else in the world, when pols quit, it's either "to be with the family" or "health issues". That's "tatemae", which the commenter at the top chooses to take at a face value.

Quote by Ampontan:"The people who would dismiss what I write because of political opinions are people who read solely to reinforce their prejudices, rather than to find new information. That only leads to sis-boom-bah political discussions, which is a waste of time."

Can't argue with that. But this:

"People who pay attention should realize that my facts are correct — it is the whole point — and can be easily separated from my opinions."

I'm not well-versed enough on these subjects to know whether what Ampontan says is fact or not. What I do know is that many people are incapable of differentiating between what they want to believe, and what is fact. Many people are also incapable of realizing that they may not be seeing all sides and may be missing crucial information. Many people are also paid shills.

I don't know if Ampontan is suffering from any of the above. I do know that I can't agree with how Ampontan seems quick to discredit others with unnecessarily offensive statements. It doesn't strike me as the words of someone reasonable.

Personally, I take all information with a grain of salt, filtering them based on possibility and likelihood. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, as long as I don't have to take action based on that information.

I think it's most important to be knowledgeable and aware of as many things as possible.

However, when I present information to others, they often think I am trying to "beat" them or argue with their beliefs, but I am merely trying to keep everyone aware and informed. Their self-important reactions and general ignorance frustrate me greatly.

It's also saddening how most people don't seem to have the interest, attention span nor memory capacity to learn and store information outside of their small personal bubble.

If Abe quit for health reasons why in the hell is he going to subject himself to the system that gave him his butt problems in the first place? After agricultural minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka committed suicide Abe approval rating was in the toilet after agricultural ministers Norihiko Akagi and Takehiko Endo got caught up in financial scandals suddenly Abe couldn't shit straight and had to leave office. If Abe wasn't so full of crap his bowels wouldn't be so irritated.

From that poster, Mr. Shinzo "Chicken Hawk" Abe wants to create Japanese versions of NSC and FEMA. I'm sure he will also give more jobs to the likes of Dentsu and Hakuhodo to "monitor" the net for anyone badmouthing him. Oh it's already started, with the guy who calls himself "stupid idiot" at the very top of the comments.

Came here from ENENEWS and I am not a lobby for anyone except somebody being held accountable for the serious mistakes made by the Japanese government before and after the Fukushima Daiichi disaster.

I remember the "Abe Incident" when he left his job as prime minister and I do not think he should be given a leadership position in any party in Japan, nor even be considered for any ministerial post, let alone that as prime minister.

But things no longer seem the same in Japan as they were, say twenty or thirty or so years ago.

A man walks off the job as prime minister and can return.

Officials under a government minister lies to the Japanese public like happaned under Mr. Noda's reign as Minister of METI, and then he becomes prime minister. The point man for much deception in the first couple of months after the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, Mr. Goshi Hosono, considers himself leadership material and runs, or states an intention to run, for leader of his political party, and is taken seriously.

Conclusion: Lying to the Japanese people is acceptable in the course of one's work as a government official.

Seems the Japanese government has reverted to early 20th Century tactics and everyone is letting them get away with it.

By the way, if any of you brave anonymous posters have any evidence that I'm "a paid shill" --- that you didn't pull from your backsides --- please do present it. If it isn't comedy, it might actually be actionable.

Ah, but that would be no fun. The gutless anonymous ones would rather spitball.

You know it's odd that people would criticize Abe for pooping his diapers when intellectual incontinence is the premise of this website.

About my coverage of Japan Earthquake of March 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.

About This Site

Well, this was, until March 11, 2011. Now it is taken over by the events in Japan, first earthquake and tsunami but quickly by the nuke reactor accident. It continues to be a one-person (me) blog, and I haven't even managed to update the sidebars after 5 months... Thanks for coming, spread the word.------------------This is an aggregator site of blogs coming out of SKF (double-short financials ETF) message board at Yahoo.

Along with commentary on day's financial news, it also provides links to the sites with financial and economic news, market data, stock technical analysis, and other relevant information that could potentially affect the financial markets and beyond.

Disclaimer: None of the posts or links is meant to be a recommendation, advice or endorsement of any kind. The site is for information and entertainment purposes only.